President Barack Obama has nominated Maj. Gen. John Thompson for a third star and for assignment as commander of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, according to a Defense Department release. Thompson has served as the Air Force’s program executive officer for tankers since January 2013. If confirmed, he will replace Lt. Gen. C.D. Moore, who has led AFLCMC since July 2012.
The Air Force and Boeing agreed to a nearly $2.4 billion contract for a new lot of KC-46 aerial tankers on Nov. 21. The deal, announced by the Pentagon, is for 15 new aircraft in Lot 11 at a cost of $2.389 billion—some $159 million per tail.